1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for sterilizing and compacting medical waste.
2. Description of Related Art
Medical waste can either be incinerated or placed within a landfill. Incineration is a relatively expensive and time consuming process. For this reason most medical waste is buried beneath the ground. To prevent contamination of the soil the waste is preferably sterilized before final disposal. Sterilization is typically accomplished by exposing the waste to an elevated temperature. The waste can also be shredded and compacted to reduce the bulk volume of the same.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,958 issued to Yerman discloses a device for the disposal of plastic syringes. The Yerman apparatus includes a cylinder which has a pair of heating plates that heat the syringes to a remolding temperature. Once the syringes reach a desired elevated temperature a piston compacts the waste into a solid block. The compacted heated waste is allowed to cool and then removed from the cylinder. The heating plates of the Yennan device have a relatively large thermal capacitance. The large thermal capacitance increases the time interval required to heat and cool the waste. The long time intervals reduce the efficiency of sterilizing and disposing large amounts of waste.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,720 issued to Baker, Sr. et al. discloses an autoclave that sterilizes and compacts medical waste. The medical waste is placed in a vessel that has an inner plastic liner. Steam is introduced to the vessel to sterilize the waste. The steam is removed and the waste is compacted by a piston. The plastic liner encloses the waste and provides an outer protective shell. The waste is allowed to cool and then removed from the vessel. Although the use of steam provides an efficient manner for sterilizing the waste, the cooling period is still unacceptable when disposing relatively large amounts of waste. It would therefore be desirable to provide a system for the efficient sterilization and compaction of medical waste.